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New Information sharing reforms - are you prepared?

12 October 2018

Reforms to promote the wellbeing and safety of children and better respond to family violence came into effect on Thursday 27 September 2018 for organisations, services and workforces prescribed under one or more of the new schemes.

The Child Information Sharing Scheme and Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme were developed in response to a range of inquiries which found that improved information sharing, collaboration and communication between services would result in better outcomes for children, women and families.

The two schemes expand circumstances where professionals can share information with each other to form a fuller picture of a child or family’s needs and risks. They also encourage earlier intervention and collaboration across services to avoid the potential for issues to escalate.

Sharing information under the schemes is guided by appropriate frameworks, such as children’s best interests and developmental frameworks and the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework (MARAM) which is a redevelopment of the Common Risk Assessment Framework (CRAF).

A wide range of organisations and services are commencing under the scheme in this first phase. From 2020, it is likely that universal services such as early childhood education, schools, hospitals, allied health, aged care and disability services will also be prescribed under all three initiatives.

For more information about the reforms, which organisations they apply to, guidelines, training registration and other practice resources, visit www.infosharing.vic.gov.au.